Hearne: Uptown Theater & Shoppes Poised to Explode in Midtown KC

Remember early last summer when KC Confidential broke the news that Stanford’s Comedy Club was Uptown Theater bound? Well, there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then, more than you might imagine; there was a complaint from a confused neighbor who couldn’t quite tell the diff between a comedy club and a dance club; then lengthy negotiations delayed Stanford’s Summer Comedy Series from August to November (it’s a Winter Series now). And there were other behind-the-scenes goings on that pretty much everybody involved doesn’t want anybody not involved to know about.

Got all that?

Well, a deal was finally struck two weeks back, the idea being that if Midtown and Westport rise to the occasion a permanent deal for Stanford’s on Broadway might be struck. And that’s all very much still in the cards.

However, unbeknownst to Stanford’s main man Craig Glazer until this week, the tenant he was told would be taking over the Uptown’s Nowhere Bar also struck a deal to take over the Conspiracy Room that was remodeled this summer to include a stage and green room for Stanford’s comics.

Meaning, if comedy’s return to KCMO is the hit everyone hopes it will be, Glazer will have to either find new digs sometime next year or take up the Uptown’s generous offer to build Stanford’s a comedy club in the Uptown Shoppes across the street just north of the theater.

Which well could be a win-win proposition given the larger available space that could accommodate bigger name acts and the tons of parking available in the center.

Craig Glazer: Make his day!

The Hamburger Mary’s dudes who are the ones taking over the Nowhere (with a movie theme of some sort) and the Conspiracy (for Hamburger Mary’s restaurant) also want to open a sports bar and a Tex-Mex brewpub in the Uptown Shoppes.

That all but assures that Uptown point man Larry Sells dream of resuscitating the once proud center and turning it into an entertainment and dining godhead appears to be on the verge of coming to pass.

All that needs to happen to potentially complete the package with Stanford’s is for Kansas Citians to vote with their feet. And make Glazer’s new comedy (which opens November 21st) into the thriving club it was for decades in Westport before losing its lease and moving to The Legends in KCK.

The area is not that bad. I mean, the Uptown hosts big names, weddings and other events. Sure, they will need security. But the area is getting better. I go to the GymKC which is in the Uptown Shoppes and jog around the neighborhoods at night. It is pretty quiet.

Well Chris, Stanfords Comedy was behind a Hooters on Metcalf with little else near us, except Hooters for night life and we did well there for 9 years before we moved to Legends. Its not like there has to be other nightspots next door. I think in time there will be plus the Uptown often has concerts as well. The area has been safe, we checked. Hey if you need to party hard I think you jump in your car and go a few blocks to Westport or P and L or a few miles to Brookside/Waldo after the show. This bar opening, and I don’t know them next door, may or may not be for you, but hey you don’t have to go to any bar you don’t want too. Simple as that. One thing there is no hip hop or rap clubs so the area is pretty tame.

I’m all for the overhaul of that area, but the once-proud center must have been way before my time as my memories of that “thriving” strip center include Shirts Illustrated and Godfather’s Pizza. I guess pride is in the eye of the beholder.